Good afternoon to all the witnesses.
I am very pleased to be here with you in Vancouver to consider your main concerns along with the other committee members.
Since this morning, several speakers have made recommendations to improve childcare services in order to improve the situation of children and reduce the poverty they face.
Ms. Khazaie, Ms. Harney and Mr. Kershaw, you all made similar recommendations, which means that this is certainly a critical issue that deserves further consideration.
I heard Ms. Harney say that she hoped that the Standing Committee on Finance would really hear her recommendations and make them a priority. A little earlier, Mr. McCallum was explaining where things stood. He said that he had not been able to convince the government and talked about the associated costs. I also heard Mr. Kershaw's response to that.
I think it is high time that society, be it in Quebec or in Canada.... As was mentioned this morning, Quebec is quite far ahead in terms of daycare services. There are costs, yes, but they must be seen first and foremost as investments. Children are our most valuable natural resource, both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada.
We talked about the vulnerability of children, which has its own costs. We said that a daycare system would significantly reduce the costs associated with that vulnerability.
I speak from experience. For 30 years, I worked with children who were vulnerable and who had many developmental difficulties. Based on my own experience, I can assure you that we can make great strides with respect to learning, which would significantly help families.
I urge you to continue to hammer home this message regarding early childhood services. I hope that it will be heard, even if you have to repeat it nearly 26 times before it comes through loud and clear. I wish you well on that mission. It is essential to continue, because I think that is really where the future lies.
We are talking about investments. So we should not look at it in terms of immediate costs. We have to remember that our future will depend on what we have done for our children. That is vital, and there are many of you making that point. I encourage you to continue.
There are all kinds of ways to find money. Mr. Mowatt, you suggested a number of things that could help improve the various services including daycare service—even though this suggestion may not be yours. I think that some of your suggestions could help the government improve how it manages and takes in money.
The Bloc Québécois has already put forward some very specific measures. It has already made certain recommendations to the government, which are still valid. We mentioned that if the government committed to not staffing one in three positions in the federal public service, it would save several billion dollars, which could be used to provide services like the early childhood services we hope to implement Canada-wide, while increasing transfers.
In my opinion, it is very important to do it by increasing transfer payments, because this is under provincial jurisdiction. Quebec did it without waiting for any such payments, but it is important to establish these services through actual transfer payments. It is also important that the federal government not get involved in provincial matters, especially early childhood services.
I would like to hear your thoughts on that, ladies and gentlemen.